Pope: Clergy sex scandal mishandled

April 17, 2008|By Michael Amon, Newsday

WASHINGTON - Pope Benedict XVI began the first full day of his U.S. visit being serenaded by thousands of spectators at the White House and ended it with a sweeping speech to the nation's bishops in which he admitted the sex abuse scandal was “very badly handled.” With Washington in a celebratory mood, President George W. Bush invited the pope - just the second pontiff to visit the White House - for an elaborate ceremony on the South Lawn and then the two leaders privately discussed issues ranging from immigration to the Middle East. Thousands filled the streets of downtown Washington as Benedict shuttled between events in the popemobile. Much attention was focused on the pope's highly anticipated speech to 350 American bishops Wednesday evening. Echoing introductory remarks by Cardinal Francis George, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Benedict said the sex scandal was “at times very badly handled. “It is your God-given responsibility as pastors to bind up the wounds caused by every breach of trust, to foster healing, to promote reconciliations and to reach out with loving concern to those so seriously wronged,” Benedict told the bishops at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. Papal observers said the pope, who said Tuesday that he was “deeply ashamed” by the abuse scandal, was trying to tackle head-on the most important issue facing the American church. “This is the first time there has been a public acknowledgment by a pope that sometimes the bishops handled the sex abuse scandal very poorly,” said the Rev. Thomas Reese, a Jesuit priest and author of books on the Vatican. Benedict did not directly address the conduct of some bishops accused of sheltering pedophile priests from scrutiny, nor did he propose concrete steps for reform. The pope's remarks came in the middle of a long address Wednesday evening on topics ranging from declining marriage rates to the faltering numbers of priests. Newsday staff writers Jennifer Maloney, Bart Jones, Jennifer Barrios and Kristen Daum, and Washington bureau chief Craig Gordon contributed to this report.